Be Sure Your Sins Will Find You Out

Numbers 32:16-23 3/23/25 A.M.

This week I want to talk about something that has been in the news lately and it’s kind of TABBOO. Something you just don’t talk about. I will be sensitive and careful about what I say.

This week a lady by the name of Cindy Clemishire testified before a state house committee in Austin, Texas. She is from the town of Hominy, Oklahoma. And she gave testimony on the ABUSE she suffered in 1982, as a 12 year old girl, at the hands of a man who became FAMOUS as the PASTOR of a MEGACHURCH. She was told by him to not tell anyone or it would RUIN EVERYTHING. And so she was groomed by this man until the age of 17, and at that time, she came forward and told her parents what had been happening for 5 years. For five years she had been keeping a SECRET but now it was out in the open. Right? NO, NO it wasn’t. Because in 1987, the church he was working for at the time, basically swept it under the rug. He was removed from his position for two years. And so this woman suffered SHAME while he went on to have FAME. He established a Megachurch. He was seen on television all around the world. He’s authored several books and sold thousands of them. But last year, EVERYTHING CAME TO LIGHT!!! No longer was it a secret. And when I heard what had happened, a scripture came to my mind. It’s found in Numbers Chapter 32.

So let’s go ahead and turn there and we’ll start reading at Verse 16 and we’ll read all the way down to Verse 23.

“And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:

17 But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.

19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.

20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the Lord to war,

21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,

22 And the land be subdued before the Lord: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.

23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.

This is my third week in the Old Testament and I wanted to preach out of the New Testament today, but I can’t. I feel led to bring this message to you today.

“Be sure your SIN will find you out.”

The preacher I spoke about earlier is Robert Morris. Listen, I thought about this a while before I decided to even bring it up. And I bring this up with a heavy heart and humility. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:1,

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

None of us are above TEMPTATION. None of us have lived a perfect life. Paul also told the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

But I brought this up as an example and a warning to you and I today. I pray for Robert Morris and his family. And I pray for the victim. And I want to say this. It’s time that Robert Morris be OPEN and HONEST about what happened.

My message today is NOT ABOUT him and what he did. It’s about COVERING UP SIN. I pray that every church in America will take heed. I pray that every church in America will take steps to NOT ALLOW these things to happen. We have a GREAT responsibility to care for those that God has given us.

Before I get into my message I want to say just a couple of things. I commit to you to be open and honest. We as a church WILL NOT sweep things under the rug. This situation with Robert Morris should have been dealt with 38 years ago.

And another thing. I commit to you to be above board on all of my dealings. I don’t meet with ladies by myself. Rachel is always with me. I don’t hide things from her. She knows where I am and what I’m doing. We have an APP on our phones that tell us each other’s location. But there is one bad thing about this APP, it also tells Rachel how fast I’m driving.